This Saturday, the local music community lost a great soul.  Droo D’Anna lost his battle with COVID and transcended into the afterworld.  Not only was he the master mind behind Droo’s Peace Crush, he hosted many an open mic, helping foster new talent within the metroplex.  He was a kind soul who radiated joy, and I consider myself lucky to have known the man. The benefit to help with Droo’s medical expenses will still proceed Sunday, September 5th at Six Springs Tavern in Richardson.  I’m sure the show will be equal parts sorrow over his passing and a joyous celebration of ..read more

Yeah, I just haven’t felt like writing much lately.  Guess you could say that I’ve been a man (or Ghost) of few words lately. So, I figured I’d just stay on that path of few words.  One word, to be exact.  Not a single song title here longer than a word.  And no words from me.  I’m letting the songs speak for themselves. Fever Cult, “Downtown” Maya Piata, “Pace” Meach Pango, “Wander” Billy Law, “Voicemail” Blue Heaven, “Faces” Coral Gables, “Bygone” Levi Ray, “Give” Chloe Jobin, “Running” S.L. Houser, “Mirror” Kyoto Lo-Fi, “Vanishing” Polystarra, “Falling” Bubby, “Gr ..read more

Deep Ellum is, first and foremost, and entertainment district.  The majority of the business in the neighborhood are centered around events regarding shopping, dining, and most importantly, music.  When I hear the words “Deep Ellum”, music venues are the first businesses to come to mind.  Trees.  Three Links.  Dada.  Adair’s.  The Free Man.  These are just some of the venues that provide the soundtrack to Deep Ellum. Deep Ellum is obviously more than music.  There are a number of great restaurants, art galleries, and shops that provide additional ch ..read more

Have you ever noticed that on a musician’s birthday, they always want to play their music?  Forget a chance to just relax and enjoy performances by their friends and favorite acts.  Nope, most it seems would rather take the opportunity to be on stage themselves. Tonight is the birthday of Leah Lane, who will be taking the stage not once, but two times tonight at Three Links.  The headliner of the show is not surprisingly Leah’s band, Rosegarden Funeral Party, the area’s premiere goth-rock act.  Prior to the RFP set, however, Ms. Lane will be onstage with Secrecies, as she j ..read more

Keepin’ it real.  I haven’t felt inspired to write lately.  I’ve had ideas after ideas for articles, playlist, etc. yet have lacked the motivation to post anything.  The Monday Mixteen I’m sharing below was supposed to be shared last week.  It was a review of sixteen of my favorite tracks released in the first quarter of 2021, complete with commentary. I’m presenting the songs sans commentary.  Do the song deserve the commentary?  Yes, yes, and yes.  I’d rather share the music with you, though, than hold back on you local music lovers out of some sense of the ..read more

Normally during this week, many Dallasites would be making the trek down to Austin for SXSW week.  Yes, the festival is still happening, but only as an online event.  That means Austin likely has no packed hotels and motels, no ridiculous amount of traffic and foot traffic, and no venues with people packed in like sardines. While this is clearly the safest way to handle the festival while the pandemic continues, I suspect many of you are missing the Austin experience.  While I clearly cannot turn my blog into the city, I can let it represent the city this Monday Mixteen.  T ..read more

Unless if you’ve been living under a rock. you have probably heard about the two COVID related mandates issued by Governor Abbott.  These mandates, which go into effect Wednesday, deal with business capacity, and the other with masks in public. The first part allows all business to operate at 100% capacity.  I will admit that I have concerns regarding what I feel may be a rush to open businesses too quickly.  This concern is compounded by the fact that Coronavirus cases in Texas have started trending upward as of recently.  While I do worry that this measure may be too extr ..read more

Foreword from The Ghost: Last year, I reached out to Noelle Hampton of The Belle Sounds, asking for recommendations for albums and singles to buy on Bandcamp Friday. She sent me a list of recommendations that due to time issues, I did not get to publish. Ms. Hampton sent me a new list of recommendations this past weekend, and I did not want to miss out on the opportunity to share these great artists with you, my readers. While I will not be publishing Noelle’s commentary on her original list, I will direct your attention to the artists she recommended last year: Dancer in the Sun, Michael Zapr ..read more

It’s been a little over a year since America learned of its first COVID death.  The following year has been hard for pretty much everyone on both a personal and financial note.  Some industries, however, have found their livelihoods more impacted by the pandemic than others.  Those in the music and artistic communities have been among those most heavily hit.  In the ever evolving music industry, much of a musician’s profits come not from records sales or even streaming, but from their live performances.  To have that source of revenue for musicians taken away has taken ..read more

Last week was indeed a long week.  While The Ghost was without heat, neither power nor water services were disrupted.  That means that through space heaters, firewood, and cats, I made it through the week alright.  Plus, I had lots of spare time.  In fact, I took the opportunity to do some painting classes, where I produced a very special piece that I call “Monday Mixteen: 2/22/21.”  If you study carefully, you will notice that the brush strokes around the edges of the cassette represent the uncertainty felt in 21st century America. OK, so I made all that up, and I did ..read more